Battle Through All The Years
by slenderpanda597
Summary: Winner of CUtopia's Battle Competition! While some are fighting to be together, others are fighting to get apart.
1. Chapter 1

(a/n - okay so I've entered The Songfiction Battle Competition (Several Rounds) by CUtopia

Rules:

- the fic has to be about the song given to you

- maximum: about 7.000 words, no minimum, I dont know how much you want to write ;)

- Any pairings, het, slash, rating

- can be combined with any other competitions/challenges

- no double entries

I am against Aiden Short and our song is Jason Walker ft Molly Reed - Down.

Right, so having listened to this song about a million times now I have decided to write some Ronks, as I haven't written any in a while and, you know what? The pairing makes me smile, and I think this song lends itself nicely to them with lyrics like 'Waiting here in line, hoping that I'll find what I've been chasing.' So, yeah, here we go!)

Battle Through

He was never good enough, he couldn't make it work, he should just give up hope. Yet he couldn't. He couldn't call it quits and chase after a so much more suitable and appropriate lifestyle for himself. He knew that what he was dreaming of could never be real, and yet he still couldn't let go. Because he didn't want to never know what he could be missing. It would never happen, but there was the tiniest possibility that it could, and he wasn't willing to turn his back on that tiny pathway that could lead him to his wish. All his life, he had dreamed of one thing: being accepted as normal. That was all, it wasn't much, but even such a simple desire as that was difficult to achieve. So now, why was he hoping to achieve the impossible? He really was shooting for the sky when he decided that he wanted to become more than a very distant acquaintance with the entrancing woman. He knew it would cause him no end of trouble, and he would end up falling down, but, at the bottom of his heart, he didn't really mind, as even just a glimpse of her Weird Sisters shirt or her ever changing hair was enough to lighten his burden and make him feel a little bit more complete. And when they made eye contact, he felt as though he had found his place in life. He would never allow them to get close, however, even if she did by some fluke of humanity want him. He was stuck on the ground, she was up in the sky. They were leagues apart, and he just knew that he could never pull her down to his level and make her such a poor, lowly and unworthy being like him. She deserved to be up in the sky, flying high. And as much as he thought he could fly alongside her, he knew that he couldn't. He would always end up falling down. And he could never bring her down with him.

Every Order meeting he sat and looked at her, and she looked at him. Even when he was standing at the back, she looked at him, and they both made eye contact. That eye contact made them both experience strange emotions, and they weren't too sure how to go about exploring them.

She had noticed him as soon as she fell over and looked up to find him there in his patchwork jacket and his scruffy clothes. Like some sort of shabby chic god he had smiled and helped her and she had forever been wanting to get to know him better. She knew that nothing could ever come of it, he was older, more mature, wiser. She would never stand a chance with someone like him, and she knew it. Yet she kept wishing that things could change. She couldn't turn her back on him, as she didn't want to look back in a few years time and regret any missed opportunities she could have had with the charming gentleman. She was confused, she didn't know where she was at, but she knew that she would never grow tired of chasing her dreams with this man, even though she knew she would fall down because of it, both metaphorically and physically. She was notoriously clumsy, forever dropping things and tripping over. But never had she realised that one man could make her do these things inside her head. Why did she even bother trying to chase him? Because she wanted him badly. She wanted to find a way to him.

They collided as she fell over a hat stand into him. His arms supported her and she looked up into his face. His head lowered, and she lifted hers slightly, and their lips met. When they connected, they felt as if they were flying - this was what they both needed, this was what bliss felt like. They separated, and he quickly pushed her away and disappeared up the stairs. Both felt themselves falling down, drowning. He felt like he had just breached every possible rule, she felt like she had done something wrong. But still, they wouldn't let go, for now they'd had a taste of what could be. And they weren't prepared to let go.

He ran, ran as fast as he could go, until he arrived. She was an absolute mess, and he knew he had done it. He had done what he had vowed never to do - he had brought her down with him, but then he had deserted her. But what good had that done? He was tired of waiting for happiness, and she had given him a slice of it. Why had he pushed her away? She wanted him, she had told him that, but still he couldn't accept it. He pulled her to him wordlessly, and she crumbled into his chest, sobbing. He had missed her way too much, and he wanted her. They would find a way through their problems, they would find a way to aim for the sky again.

He kissed her softly, gently, as they were pronounced man and wife. She looked up at him in total adoration. She didn't she the monster he saw himself as, she saw a perfect gentleman. And she wouldn't have him any other way. Times were hard, and it wasn't easy when the world was falling down around them, but they would do it. With each other, they were better off than they would be alone. They could do it.

He had gone again. He had let his mind get the better of him and tell him what a beast he was, and how he had brought her down, and now how he had ruined another life. She was left alone, supporting another life inside her, without him. And she deteriorated again. She fell back to where she had been when he left her for the first time. Why did he do this to her? She needed him. And he needed her. Eventually he returned having battled through all of the problems he had with his conscience, and he apologised, and tried to be there for her and for the new life. And when their son was born, they were sky high again, they had climbed back up together, and were flying through stars once more, something they could never do alone. But together they could. If separated, only bad things could happen, but if together, they could never fall down.

And so it was, on the day of battle, when they were needed, though he tried to force separation upon them, they weren't truly ready to let go of the height they had gained together. So they shot for the sky together, in battle, trying to show what they believed in using the strength they had from the support of each other. They would battle together, just as they had battled together before.

They shot for the sky, and they fell to the ground. They tried, but they fell down. Together, they battled through so many problems, and climbed to large heights, loving each other all the way. And when it came to the final battle, they fell down together. Which isn't so bad, because when they fell this time, they rose to a much better place. A place where they could fly alongside each other forever. They would never fall down again.

~Finite~

(a/n - wow, emotional. Seriously, I am rather proud of that. And if I am lucky enough to get through to the next round I will add my next entry in a new chapter. If I dont, then at least I tried, but I fell down ^_~ - feel free to review etc)


	2. Chapter 2

(a/n - so, guess what, guess what guess what? I GOT THROUGH TO THE FINAL! The two finalists are me and Codename Jellybean, so it is gonna be tough! The third position is TheUnnamedAvatar, who wrote an awesome fic. The two finalists will now write about the same song: Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Golding - I need your love. So off I go! Still staying in the comfort zone, I guess because I like this song a little less to the previous one I had, and MMAD are just so awesome. Be prepared for some serious angst, guys.)

All The Years

'Dear Albus, I need your love.'

No, that sounds too desperate. Throw that away.

"The Headmaster doesn't require the Transfiguration Professor at this moment in time. He is otherwise engaged. Please return at another time." Those few sentences uttered by one portrait guarding his chambers several years ago. Those few sentences rattled around her brain like bees who would never leave a honeypot alone, or nifflers who wouldn't leave until they'd found every last thing. Those few sentences had been the words that signalled the end of their relationship, for no apparent reason. Presumably, he had his reasons. He wouldn't end it without valid ones, but still. It hurt. To be told in such a cold manner by a portrait that he didn't need her, after she had scheduled meeting him in his chambers that evening. She cared for him madly, and nowadays they were merely colleagues, despite what had passed between them all those years ago.

'Dear Albus, I come alive when you're with me,'

No, that sounds like you're sexually frustrated. Throw that away.

She cared for him with everything she had. Whenever he smiled at her, or spoke to her, her day became infinitely better simply because he had become a small part of it. She couldn't help it, but every bone in her body ached with the hope that one day, maybe he would just let her know what had gone wrong, so that she could finally understand and they could put the past behind them. She had specifically set aside an evening to compose a letter to tell him everything she felt so that perhaps, maybe, she wouldn't feel so hurt anymore. She needed his love.

'Dear Albus, I take a deep breath everytime I pass your door,'

No, that sounds like you're scared of him. Throw that away.

Whenever she wandered the castle in a vain attempt to cure her continuous insomnia she had experienced since they had parted, she had frequently found herself outside the same portrait that had spoken those few sentences all those years ago. Everytime she saw it, she would inhale and exhale slowly, conjuring up that he would find her there, that it was all a mistake, that they had never broken apart in such a cold and ruthless way. She would pray and imagine and fancy all she liked, but still she would find herself cold, upset and alone for a night once more. She had not slept properly for every night for several years now, and she could feel herself aging beyond her years. She needed him.

'Dear Albus, I've been a stranger ever since we fell apart,'

No, that sounds like you decided to split. Throw that away.

Everyday she put on a strict persona, so unlike the one she had been used to when she was younger. Her self-esteem shattered, she had resorted to using power and authority to gain her a stance, since her image and personality had evidently never been enough to win her the love of a man as great as he was. Whenever they spoke, she shut herself off from the world and used only the basic civil terms deemed necessary, for fear of showing him and the world just how badly she needed him to function like a normal human being. Being so close to him made her heart beat and her mind race. But she couldn't show it. Never. It had to be her secret. And it was consuming her from the inside out. This letter was the way of finally gaining some closure.

'Dear Albus, I try to fight this but I know I'm not that strong,'

No, that sounds like you're battling a crush or whim. Throw that away.

Every moment she spent in the castle near him was a moment she knew that she was going crazy. Soon, she would be a mere shadow of the person she used to be at most, and all of her steely resolve and brave nature was rapidly fading into dust, she was using it that much in her day to day life now. Just to not run forward and embrace him like a dog might greet its owner who had been absent for an hour or two. Her body craved for his touch, and whenever she did catch a snatch of sleep, her dreams were filled with his face, his hands, his voice. She couldn't escape him, she was drowning in him. And then those few sentences would replay once more in her head and she would become helpless once more.

'Dear Albus, Tell me do you feel the same? Hold me in your arms again,'

No, that sounds as if you're needy. Throw that away.

Questions swirled around her mind at all the most inconvenient hours. Lunch, lessons, her life was quickly becoming uncontrollable, and she didn't like it. She enjoyed knowing exactly what was going on, and realising that because of those few sentences and their separation, she was becoming a ghost, and was losing the battle of life made her scared. She didn't know what to do. Only he could fix her problems, but then, he couldn't. Because he was the problem. Her inevitable doom was inescapable, unless she finished this letter.

'Dear Albus, You have never been to blame,'

No, that sounds like you're at fault. Throw that away.

Perhaps, she realised, he was the source of all of her problems. Before now, she had always presumed that he had valid reasons for the split. That he was unquestionably right in his way of dealing with things. Maybe, a small part of her brain whispered, he was the culprit here. He had left her alone without any thought to her feelings. For years she had become a changed woman. Easily angered, agitated and anxious. Not the carefree and loving person she once was. Her trust of others had vanished. No wonder she had few friends. He had ruined her life. Why was she still chasing after him?

'Dear Albus, I've been trying to make it change,'

No, that sounds like your harsh persona is deliberately done. Throw that away.

Really, she decided, he was awful. She should hate him. And maybe that's why she was always drawn to him. Perhaps it wasn't love filling her every muscle as she had thought, but hate. Hatred for all he had done for her with those few sentences. People may adore him and call him blameless, but he was a conniving and cunning man, rendering her helpless to herself, succumbing her to a series of awful changes. She had thought that he could make anything and everything right. Well she was wrong. He couldn't. He had ruined her. And she needed to find herself again before it was too late. He was never going to be the one to rebuild her while he regarded her with such a casual and replaceable attitude.

'Dear Albus, I need to be free.'

Yes, that sounds good. One sentence. Fairly cold and unfeeling. Detached. Similar to those which first changed you all those years ago. Attach it with your notice to leave Hogwarts. Start your life elsewhere. Finally, you're free.

He looked at the brief sentence. Cold and unfeeling. What was he going to do? Nothing, it would appear could be done. It was his fault. Now it was his turn to hope for a reunion in the future. One which could bring them together again. Because they did need each other. Albus and Minerva.

(a/n - so that's it. I hope it is good enough. It was so hard to write them apart, so I had to include the little spark of hope at the end. One of my favourite lyrics was 'I know you're there but I can't see you anymore' if you're interested. Please feel free to review and favourite. And wish me luck!)


End file.
